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Well, we are rolling into the final days of skiing before our U12/U14 team departs, while the U16 crew remains for another five days. The weather has certainly been beautiful, both up on the glacier and down here in town, and the training has been incredible. It is so great to watch all of the national teams and athletes from all over the world converge here in Saas-Fee to take advantage of the same training that our kids are getting.

The U12/U14 team did the traditional Gleischergrotte hike yesterday, where we visit the glacial lake created by runoff, specifically from the Feegletscher. The water was C.O.L.D., but worth it, as temps have been very summery. The team then headed up to the restaurant on the mountain for some celebratory ice cream. The U12/U14 team here for the Saas-Fee camp was relatively small, but they have had the advantage of lots of professional coaching attention, as well as the benefit of navigating the complexities of a Swiss camp. From figuring out how to get to the tuning room (and learning proper tuning techniques), to loading and unloading on the trams and train to get to the glacier, to using German or French to order a chocolate croissant in town, these kids have DIALED it in! We are so proud of this next generation of SMS alpine team skiers!

Good luck to our “littles” as they make their way back home! And, good luck to the U16s as they finish out strong, just in time to start the fall at SMS!

The intense fog, snow and rain has subsided to make way for incredible high-mountain sun and crazy-blue skies. Sunscreen is the mantra at breakfast, before sending everyone out onto the glacier. The past two days of skiing have been fantastic. The snow is firm, and the blanket of new snow has really helped make the training spectacular. Everyone is working on getting their legs under them again – just getting back in the saddle after some summer time off is important, plus many kids are trying out new, bigger equipment.

The snowy day off on the first day gave us some time to conduct tuning clinics for both the U16 and the U14/12 groups, and kids have been diligent about tuning and prepping their skis each day.

Saas-Fee is such a favorite camp venue for the SMS alpine team, because the training is great, and the town is so fun. Kids have enjoyed having the freedom to explore a bit, and because it is a walking town, everything is within reach! Thanks to all of the parents who made this trip possible for your kids. It is such a unique experience!

We arrived yesterday here in Saas-Fee at the Hotel Tenne in torrential, cold rain. The bus ride up the switchback mountain road was a little exciting with thick fog, but we made it!

Well, today was our first day here for our Swiss U16/14/12 camp, and we woke up to snow in the valley! We are certainly used to (and looking for) snow up on the glacier, but snow down here in town during the summer is fairly rare. Last night, many of us woke to the sounds of incredible thunder and lightening storms, and we were told that there was a rock slide on the mountain road leading to Saas-Fee, closing the pass for a bit this morning.

The good news is, all of that rain and snow means that more than 15 inches of snow fell up on the glacier last night and this morning. The bad news is that all of that snow closed the trams for the day today, so we’ll start on-snow training tomorrow. So, this morning, we took a hike around town, ending at the Kneipp wellness area, where our fearless kids (and a couple of the coaches) waded into the glacial waters. The rest of us watched (and shivered), and then headed back to the hotel for lunch. Tuning clinics and games on the SportsPlatz are up for this afternoon.

Hi, this is Michael and Aaron. Our days at the Mount Hood sleep away camp have been awesome. The first day was great for getting back the feel of skiing after such a long off season. With 10.33 miles of mixed drills and free skiing it made for the perfect start to the camp. After a long day of skiing we played a very competitive game of ultimate frisbee which was a lot of fun. The second day of skiing was a great progression of the first day, filled with more drills, and a brush corridor. With 11 miles of skiing day two defiantly didn’t disappoint. After a long day of skiing we took a 4.7 mile hike to Mirror Lake where we experienced cold water, and beautiful scenery. Our last day of skiing so thus was filled with apex drills, a wave track, and a very fun and challenging obstacle course which was sure to keep you on your toes. With 16.8 total miles skied for day three I was defiantly ready for a rest day. Sleeping in for an extra hour, and getting my laundry done was a great start to the off day. After our morning warm up we had a delicious breakfast and than we were off to compete in the first annual SMS open mini golf tournament! With a total of 36 holes played the various teams battled it out for the top spot. The evening of our off day was filled with football, frisbee, and an arm wrestling tournament which got very involved, and extremely loud from all the cheering. So far, the first 5 days of the camp have been very productive and busy, and I can’t wait to see what the next upcoming days will bring!

Hello everyone it’s your favorite campers Bronson Culver and Jake Jacobi. Today was our second day on snow. It was very sunny and scorching hot!

We woke up at 5:30 very excited to ski. We were on the lift by 7:00. In the morning, the snow was firm and fast. The coaches set corridor courses and we skied for 15 runs! Yesterday we just free skied but we got 12 runs in. We were all very tired by the end. For lunch, we packed sandwiches and ate on the volcanic rocks on the mountain. The sun was not very nice to us, as the majority of the campers got a sunburn! Afterwards, we had a very relaxing study hall and then went on a hike Mirror Lake and swam in the frigid waters of Oregon. Yesterday for dry land, we played frisbee and stretched. Dinner so far has been delicious, courtesy of “Rocky Mt Kitchen” by Miki.

Everybody is getting the hang of tuning and that’s all we have for now. Stay tuned for more updates.

I am writing to let everyone know about SMS Alpine’s new Facebook and Instagram pages. We will be doing daily updates there and the longer trip posts here on the blog. We already have some great pics of the kids on there. Check them out:

This past weekend was graduation here at SMS. Luckily for us the rain held off and it turned out to be a beautiful weekend. Congratulations to the entire class of 2017! You are a terrific bunch of kids and I can’t wait to hear what you are all up to in the coming years. Below are a handful of pictures from graduation:

Alumni Tyler 16′ and Kazui 15′ made it to graduation. Heal up quick Tyler!

Nice smile Kevin

Kay

Kay again

Also a quick shout out to Kevin O’Keefe who gave one of the best graduation speeches I have heard. Luckily he was last to speak. Would have been a tough act to follow…

So what are the alpine seniors up to next year?

Riku deferred from Saint Lawerence and will be taking a PG year next year to ski.

Sarah is off to Burlington to attend UVM.

Kay will be spending next season skiing on the Chilean National Team.

Marissa is headed across the pond to study at St. Andrews College in Scotland.

Hana deferred from UNH and will be spending next year skiing.

Marika is off to California and much needed warmer temperatures. She will be attending the University of San Diego.

Jack is bound for Colorado and the University of Denver.

Julia (far left in this picture) is another one headed to the UK to study. She will be attending King’s College in London.

Danie will be attending Hamilton College in New York.

At this point Elise is still undecided. She is deciding between taking a PG year or going off to college at either Saint Lawrence or Bates.

Sean (pictured eating a sandwich) will be attending Northeastern University in Boston.

Liam (the one not eating the sandwich) has deferred from BC and will be PGing next season.

Mikayla will be attending Saint Lawrence University.

Spencer is another one off to warmer climates. He will be attending Santa Clara University in California.

Kevin (center bean bag) is following in his brothers footsteps and is headed up to Burlington to attend UVM.

Well that about does it. The best of luck everyone and please come back and visit. We are going to miss you!